John McIntyre: Anthony Cunningham running out of time with Tribesmen

Former Galway manager John McIntyre has predicted that his successor Anthony Cunningham is unlikely to remain in charge of the Tribesmen for much longer.

Cunningham, now in his fourth season, took over when McIntyre’s three-year term finished without ending the Galway All-Ireland famine, and the timid manner in which they went down to Waterford in the league quarter-finals last weekend has led to a lot of soul-searching in the county this week.

McIntyre, writing in the Connacht Tribune, where he is sports editor, said that Galway have gone downhill since drawing the 2012 All-Ireland final against Kilkenny and he doesn’t see Cunningham surviving in the position much longer.

“Since the All-Ireland final replay of 2012, the squad have lost their way completely and the lack of leadership in their ranks when things start going wrong remains disturbing. They were made to look second best by a young Waterford outfit who at least knew what the game plan was and how to implement it,” wrote McIntyre.

“Anthony Cunningham fought vigorously to obtain a fourth year in charge and I would have supported that scenario as he had come closer than any previous manager since 1988 to bring the Liam McCarthy Cup back west.

“Unfortunately, the wheels have really come off the Galway wagon in the interim and now Cunningham only has a couple of months to save his job. On what we have seen so far in 2015, the St Thomas’ clubman will be collecting his walking papers sooner than later barring a major turnaround in fortunes,” said McIntyre.

The former Tipperary defender said he couldn’t believe when Galway didn’t play with the wind when they won the toss against one of their bogey teams, and warned there were problems aplenty.

“There is little semblance of a settled team; star player Joe Canning still has no fixed abode; the central defensive positions remain up for grabs.

“If the league is regularly used by counties to put a shape on their championship selections, then Galway have failed that test miserably in 2015.”

Meanwhile former Cork captain Tony Davis says inter-county football managers are under no obligation to entertain, despite what his former Sunday Game colleague Joe Brolly maintains.

While Davis believes Brolly’s concerns about the game are merited, he argues it is wrong to point the finger of blame at managers. Earlier this week, the outspoken Derry pundit took aim at Mickey Harte and Brian McIver.

“If you’re a manager of a football team, you have no moral obligation to entertain or to uphold the spirit of the game,” insists Davis.

“They are looking at their results and their reputation. A lot of them are probably doing seven days’ work with no payment. Are you going out to entertain and to give it a lash or are you going out to win something?

“The people doing it at the moment are playing within the rules.”